Amidst high gloom of retrenchment and reduction in salaries because of the raging pandemic, a global outsourcing company has drawn up an ambitious recruitment plan for India.
UK-based QX Global, which has set up major centres across India, has plans to hire over 1200 people across all departments and experience. By May, 2022, the company has plans to have a 3000-plus workforce in India.
Experts claim India’s huge knowledge pool has helped the country continue to be the most preferred location for KPO players.
“India is one of our biggest focuses. Indians have carved a niche for themselves across the world with their brilliance, and post Covid-19, there is a larger need for such professionals to service global clients, ” said Frank Robinson, a director of QX Global, in an interview.
The pandemic led to approximately 30-35,000 job losses in the KPO and BPO sectors in India last year. An estimated 60,000 people were sent on leave without pay (or furloughs). The estimated number of job losses translates to about 0.68 percent of the 43.6 lakh employed by the Indian IT and BPO sectors.
QX Global is a bespoke knowledge process outsourcing company providing finance, accounts, recruitment, payroll, IT-software and corporate advisory services. The company has major delivery centres located in Ahmedabad, Baroda, Mumbai and Noida. Its corporate office is based in the UK with a subsidiary presence in New Jersey, US.
Robinson said what worked for the company was the fact that QX Global is the first outsourcing company in India to be GDPR Compliant. “It gives us a great advantage over other companies operating for the European Union market,” said Robinson. The GDPR is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA.
QX Global, which has already turned into the largest Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO) company in Gujarat, works with clients that include accountants, businesses, healthcare providers, local government bodies and recruitment agencies. “Our people’s growth is in line with our business growth. We are expanding across all our divisions on a global scale,” says Robinson.
Like India, the US is also a strategic growth market for QX Global with close to 70 active clients in accounting, finance and recruitment processes. The company plans to double the number of clients and add offices in New York, Austin, and Chicago, besides its existing headquarters in New Jersey.
“We are expanding across the world and India is an important part of our growth,” said Robinson. India covers over 70 percent of the KPO industry worldwide and provides a plethora of services. India’s Tier-I cities have been the torch bearers of the KPO and BPO sectors growth due to their better infrastructure, connectivity and talent.
Robinson said the exponential growth rate of the KPO sector is fuelled by the need to acquire new clients, domain knowledge and a highly competitive market.
He said his company is picking up talented freshers from leading colleges around India to come and join a bespoke training programme. “We are giving them a kick start in their career and helping the transition from college to corporate. We also source super talented people who have a wealth of experience across different industries and bring the skills that we need to provide excellent service for our global clients.”
“The outlook looks great. Loads of exciting projects & plans in place for QX. We have a healthy pipeline and lots of great new people coming to join the company,” adds Robinson.
Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) is the modified version of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) which was a statutory body formed on 1 February, 1959 under the Electricity Supply Act 1948. In 2010, the Government of Punjab created two separate companies, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (POWERCOM) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Ltd (TRANSCO) to be a part of the PSPCL. The organisation lists its vision as “pursuing a value based customer centric approach and strive for excellent operational parameters on sound commercial principles”.
On ground the performance of the organisation leaves much to be desired. Punjab has become used to frequent disruptions in the supply of electricity. There are multiple reasons for the same; the infrastructure in terms of lines laid and availability of transmitters etc. is very old and outdated, hence, at the slightest natural disruption (even a light shower) it gets disrupted; secondly, the cost of electricity in Punjab is the highest in the entire country which leaves people under heavy financial strain, it multiplies further with municipal tax, cow cess, increased electricity duty and social security surcharge.
This apart, PSPCL is fighting a severe financial crunch owing to power subsidies, default in payment of power bills by the government and payment of coal washing charges to private power plants. Due to heavy expenditure and delay in payment of bills by government offices, the organisation is compelled to take heavy loans, which greatly adds to its financial burden. This is the condition when the government touts Punjab (PSPCL) as power surplus.
The situation became so bad recently that a cut in power supply to
high-consumption industries was carried out for two days even as working hours
in government offices were curtailed in order to provide electricity to farmers
during harvesting season.
The blame for the terrible state of affairs is being put on the Power
Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with private suppliers that were signed many years
back by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led government in Punjab. It is reported
that out of 139 PPAs signed during the SAD rule, 17 were enough to cater for
the requirement of the state, there is no logical explanation for signing the
remainder 122 for 1,314 MWs of power.
At present, of the total installed power generation capacity of 14,362 MW in the state 6,902 MW is run by private firms. There are three private thermal plants in the state with a combined capacity of 3,920 MW. Apart from this, the state can produce 1,300 MW through renewable sources of energy, hydro, solar and biomass.
Another point of concern is that the PPAs signed with major Independent Power Producers (IPPs) had a clause wherein fixed charges would be paid to if the government did not require electricity. The power plants are the biggest beneficiaries of the PPA clause which has caused a huge financial loss running into thousands of crores to the PSPCL. The then Punjab government should have taken a leaf out of the policy adopted by the Gujarat Government for purchasing power from private entities only to meet peak power demand.
The same SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) is now voracious in protests against the government. The face saving reason being floated around is that the (IPPs) were drafted on the basis of peak power demand that exists only for four months in a year.
Under fire, the SAD maintains that the state first decided to go in for private participation in power generation during the 2002-2007 Captain Amarinder Singh government which gave clearance for private players to set up facilities with a capacity of 2,000 MW to meet the additional requirement. The SAD maintains that it merely approved the establishment of private power plants as per the guidelines of the then Dr. Manmohan Singh led government at New Delhi. These arguments do not hold merit since it was the responsibility of SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) to revisit the contracts and reject all clauses found unsuitable for Punjab.
PSPCL has tried to cover up the amount being given to the IPPs by
attempting to keep its own plants shut and using their power optimally. This
however has not helped since the PSPCL has to pay salaries to its own power
generation staff without using it optimally.
Now, in an attempt to cover up the lapses of the organisation, the PSPCL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) A. Venu Parsad has stated that the PSPCL aggressively sells surplus power during winter, apart from banking of power with other states in order to reduce the burden. The PSPCL is also adopting a life saving posture of claiming that termination of PPAs with IPPs will lead to a power crisis in the state. This explanation would not stand scrutiny. Punjab struggles to find buyers for its excess power since there are so many private plants coming up.
Captain Amarinder Singh-led incumbent Congress Government in Punjab had, on assuming office in 2017, promised to revisit the PPAs. During the campaigning, the Congress had accused the PSPCL of extending undue benefits to the tune of Rs. 7,500 crore to private players providing power to the state by allowing them to raise their variable costs arbitrarily, thus making power expensive for the consumers.
The government, sadly, has been unable to progress upon the word given. Now with elections looming ahead there is not much scope left to do despite a lot of noise being made.
The fact of the matter is that the PSPCL has been breaking rules not only
during the times of the Badal Government but also all through the Congress
regime. The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PERC) (Conduct of
Business) Regulations, 2005 states that PSPCL shall not enter into a
contractual commitment of such long term power purchase till the PSERC approves
the procurement of electricity. It is reported that the organisation has not been
taking the mandatory approval of (PSERC) before signing the PPAs. There are
innumerable instances where ex-post facto approval of PPAs was taken from PSERC
in delays ranging from six months to 11 years. In more than a dozen PPAs, the
approval of PSERC remained awaited for as long as 12 years even as the purchase
of electricity carried on undeterred.
Despite the rhetoric (under duress) of revisiting the PPAs the government of Punjab seems to be determined to continue on the path of privatisation of electricity generation. There are apprehensions that government plants will remain on forced shutdown to pave way for private sector generation. This is evident from the actions being taken to redevelop and sell the 1,764-acre plot on which stands state-owned Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda which was shut down in January 2018 amid the state government’s efforts to phase out thermal power plants older than 25 years over emission-related concerns, in line with central government guidelines. The employees are staging protests and rightly so since the government has the land on which new a new generation set up can be constructed.
Other states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are also revisiting their PPAs with private players and revising them. In some cases the matter has gone to the courts. More and more states are refraining from signing any more PPA agreements. Also, many states which are buying power are charging less than Punjab. Punjab is neither able to consume power within the state nor sell power to others outside. The burden therefore will be passed on to consumers.
The PSPCL imbroglio is a clear cut case of mismanagement for decades on end under the very nose of successive SAD as well as Congress run governments. The fact that there is hesitation to set things right gives an impression of corrupt practices being adopted. The matter calls for an independent judicial enquiry more so since the people as well as the state are paying a very heavy price for this procrastination.
On 6 March 2020, the Union government set up a Delimitation Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge, Ranjana Prakash Desai. Among its many responsibilities was the mandate to carry out a long pending delimitation exercise in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. In accordance with Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019, the number of Assembly seats in J&K will increase from 107 to 114 with seven more seats being added to the Jammu region. This was to cater for West Pakistan refugees and others who were earlier, under Article 35A, denied domicile. The right to vote would now form a part of the electorate.
New Delhi has also hinted upon its resolve to conduct elections in the UT immediately after setting up the news constituencies as per the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission. This, therefore, has become the most significant and keenly watched political exercise in the region.
It is well known that the two distinct geographical segments which comprise the UT (Jammu region and Kashmir region) vote in accordance to regional affiliations; thus, the region which has more constituencies gets to form the government. For many decades the Jammu region has had representation not commensurate with its population and territory. An arbitrary allocation done in 1957 by the then state government awarded 30 seats to Jammu region, 43 seats to Kashmir and two to Ladakh. The huge gap was allowed despite there being a population difference of less than a lakh (82,340) in 1951. The disparity remains till date even though some additional constituencies were created later; presently, Jammu and Kashmir has 87 seats, 46 for Kashmir, 37 for Jammu and 4 for Ladakh.
It has been decided that the delimitation process will be carried out in accordance with the census of 2011. Here too the people of Jammu have reservation since the population figures of the census were Kashmir (6888475), Jammu (5378538 ) and Ladakh (290494). The census suddenly showed a population disparity between the two regions at a massive 15,09,937 which is a sudden and quantum jump from earlier figures. The matter looks quite odd since Jammu had received additional population due to the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir.
The reason behind this sudden increase has been identified as the floating population of Gujjars and Bakerwals being shown in the Kashmir region even though it shifts between the two regions according to the weather conditions.
The census also claimed that 1,95,190 Hindus were living in Kashmir which is not easily acceptable. The scheduled castes who are basically Jammu centric are quite surprised to note that their strength has shown a decline since 1981 which goes against the established norms of population growth in the region as well as the entire country. The Gujjar-Bakerwal community claims that its actual population share is higher than suggested by the census.
Some analysts in Kashmir maintain that the existing data supports the present distribution of seats. “Even on the “one person one vote” principle, it (seat allocation) is as good as it can get with 1,49,749 voters per constituency in Kashmir and 1,45,366 voters per constituency in Jammu,” says Haseeb Drabu.
The decision to use the 2011 Census data for Delimitation will definitely
compound the difficulty of reaching a fair conclusion.
The Kashmir-based political parties are playing their cards very close to their chests. While the National Conference has, after initial hesitation, met with the representatives of the Commission, the PDP has refused to do so. “Our party has decided to stay away from this process and not be a part of some exercise, the outcome which is widely believed to be pre-planned,” said PDP General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone. National Conference too, in its memorandum submitted to the commission, has questioned the legal validity of the panel saying delimitation of constituencies can be undertaken after the next census.
The Delimitation Commission has hinted that while population will form the main criteria, the geography, terrain and topography, population density, ethnic composition, etc, will also be considered. This aspect has its own dynamics and may become an issue of contention in the long run.
The seats
reserved for Gilgit-Baltistan are also likely to emerge as a point for debate
since they remain with the UT of Jammu and Kashmir while the region is
territorially included in Ladakh. It may not be politically relevant at the
moment but it is something that should not be allowed to linger unnecessarily.
Ideally the Kashmir-based parties would have liked the delimitation process to remain dormant for as long as possible – preferably till 2031. The change in borders, however, has given the opportunity to the government to go ahead and it is doing so. The government is also quite determined to ensure that the reservation for Scheduled Tribes in the assembly and extension of right to vote to the West Pakistan refugees and others who have qualified for domicile in the state is ensured.
The delimitation exercise, therefore, is of a sensitive nature. On the one hand the applicability of the 2011 census is likely to create problems but then there is no choice. On the other hand, the balancing act of increasing the number of seats from 107 to 114 will not go well with the Kashmiri leadership.
If not handled with maturity and sensitivity, the delimitation process
has the potential of triggering an uprising in the region which is witnessing
peace and tranquilly after decades. Undue hurry may lead to distrust and
escalation of unrest that would linger for a long time especially so in Kashmir.
It also needs to be remembered that some vested interests in Kashmir have the
expertise and the potential to trigger an uprising at the slightest pretext. Over
and above the cautionary note it can be said that the commission is going into
great detail to ensure a fair award that is acceptable to all.
The involvement of two Kolkata-based promoters in a big buck Railway contract has snowballed into a huge controversy because of the company’s dubious past.
Investigators have found that Kolkata promoters RK Bhalotia and Prateek Bhalotia and their old company, Riddhi Siddhi Udyog and a new company Sigma Rail Systems Private Limited could be in serious trouble because of their alleged violations of Railway guidelines to seek orders.
In fact, the allegations are serious enough to have created a ruckus amongst our lawmakers with at least four MPs raising the issues in various forums including Parliament.
Helping the Bhalotias, the investigators found, were top officials of the Railway Board in the Indian Capital and also some senior officials of the Indian Railways in Kolkata.
The matter has turned serious.
Kaushalendra Kumar (JDU), Amol Kolhe (NCP) and Shatabdi Roy (AITC) have sent letters to new Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw within days of his assuming office.
(Representative photo)
This correspondent has seen all the letters which highlights issues relating to the functioning of the Railway Board and its dealings with the Bhalotias.
Jasvir Singh Gill (INC) has even gone ahead and submitted an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on this matter. The MPs are in agreement that the functioning of the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) is a matter of concern. Even more so because the companies in question deal with equipment that is vital for the safety of train operations.
So what is the crisis?
Top sources in Kolkata told this reporter that RK Bhalotia and his proprietorship concern, Riddhi Siddhi Udyog which is located at 238A, AJC Bose Road, Unit-5, Kolkata was a Category 1 single vendor for the supply of Block Brakes in the Mechanical Department of Indian Railway, for 40 years until 2014. Now what is interesting is that in 2014, both RK Bhalotia and his son were taken into custody for alleged charges of bribery and involvement of a honey trap, by the Kolkata office of the CBI. This news received wide coverage including the arrest of an Excise Commissioner in the day. An article highlighting the matter was even published in the Rail Samachar. Expectedly, the railways took stern action and the company was delisted through a letter dated 17.11.2014.
Three years later, the company and its promoters were charged U/s 120-B, 420, 468, 471, 201 IPC and section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, by the CBI.
(Representative photo)
Now, claim the sources, trouble started when the Bhalotias – realizing that their existing and old company was delisted – promptly formed a new company, M/s Sigma Rail Systems Private Limited in the year 2016 having registered office in the same address. As they were blacklisted in the mechanical department of the Railways, they started trying for a fresh registration as a Developmental Order Vendor in the Signalling & Telecommunication Department of the Railway. “They realised the high potential and prospect of the S&T products with the upcoming modernization in the signalling department of the Railways,” the sources further said.
On pen and paper, this should have been an uphill task for the Bhalotias due to the very strict existing policies as per the internal guidelines of the Railways. As per the Railway guidelines issued in 1971 vide clause 3(i) it is mentioned that every Ministry/Department/Office should maintain an up to date list of approved suppliers by taking into consideration their financial standard, capacity, past performance etc. This is not all.
If a company is banned by one ministry, it is bound to be banned by all ministries under Clause 16 of the Railway guidelines. The grounds on which such banning may be ordered are:
(ii) if the proprietor of the firm, its employee, partner or representative following prosecution by the CBI or under normal process of law for offences involving moral turpitude in relation to business dealings;
(iii) If there is strong justification for believing that the proprietor or employee or representative of the firm has been guilty of malpractices such as bribery, fraud etc.
iii) As per clause 18(ii) – A banning order shall specify the names of all the partners, directors etc. of the firm and its allied concerns.
iv) As per clause 19 – No contract of any kind whatsoever shall be placed with a banned firm, including its allied firm by all Ministries. (Internal guidelines available with the RTI application no. 7117/2010 submitted by Sunil Kumar, Chief Public Information Officer-III, Railway Board)
(Representative photo)
But the Bhalotias proved equal to the challenge and even after their company was delisted, they managed to get a fresh registration for their company Sigma as a vendor for developmental orders vide letter dated 26.04.2019 for the supply of MSDAC (which is an automatic axle counter and a vital part of the automated Railway Signalling systems). The sources allege that the Bhalotias managed to climb this insurmountable obstacle with the full knowledge of the chairman Railway Board, Executive Directors and other senior officers.
Sources also told this reporter that Sigma got the above registration on the basis of its MOU with Croatia based M/s ALTPRO as its OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer).
It is noteworthy that, Sigma, where both the father & son are promoter directors, is a company with negative net worth, loss making and having minimum paid up share capital of Rs.1,00,000/- and also having nil financial standard, capacity and past performance, in the year 2019.
“How could the Indian Railways agree for a fresh registration with a company of zero net worth and zero revenue. What kind of declarations were made by the Bhalotias?” asked the sources.
Letters seeking answers from the chairman, Railway Board and other top officials from this reporter remained unanswered.
The fresh registration, claimed sources, overlooked the main clauses and points of internal guidelines of the Railways even when the tainted proprietor is director and shareholder in the new company. Also, the fact that the address of the blacklisted company and the new company is the same, was overlooked.
The matter does not end here.
Once Sigma was registered in 2019, it is alleged that the company’s main concern was to plan and create a monopoly in S&T Directorate, RDSO and also ensure that the Railways overlook the vast proven track record of existing companies like Eldyne, Siemens, Frouscher, all having more than 20 years of experience of supplying MSDAC in the Railways.
In short, Sigma was interested in an uninterrupted run with the supply of the MSDAC. In short, the Bhalotias wanted to make Sigma the sole monopoly in the S&T Directorate for the supply of its main product MSDAC, in the same manner as it was done by them in the mechanical department for the supply of Block Brakes earlier.
Letters seeking answers from the chairman, Railway Board and other top officials of the Railway Board from this reporter remained unanswered. Repeated attempts to reach the Bhalotias also proved futile.
Ever been to an entertainment park and taken the most thrilling roller-coaster ride? Well, for observers, security analysts, international relations experts, diplomats and the world watching, events in Afghanistan is the ‘mother rollercoaster ride of all’. Nobody would contest the statement ‘change is the only constant’ in the world. This overview will provide a primer to the events in Afghanistan, and some causative factors which will dictate turn of events, including national interests of players involved.
Bringing up to Date The speed and scope of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has prompted introspection the world over on what went wrong, and how, after billions of dollars spent on a 20-year war effort, it could all end so ignominiously. Few unpleasant truths: Taliban have defeated the United States and its allies. They won because they have more popular support; not because most Afghans love the Taliban, but because people felt that the American occupation was unbearably cruel and corrupt. Within USA, internally and politically, GWOT (Global War On Terrorism) has lost its flavour, and majority want exit from Afghanistan, and other countries where they have a military footprint/intervention. The greatest military power in the world has been defeated by the people of a small, desperately poor failed state. This will have an extremely adverse effect on the image of the USA the ‘superpower’.
After Iraq lies, and many other routs, the rationale of liberal democracy and empowering women sounds hollow with desperate images flashing on TV of Afghanistan. Taliban are feudal, they are neither medieval or primitive. These are people with laptops, who have been negotiating with the Americans in Qatar for the last fourteen years. They are the product of some of the worst times of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century. They have been moulded by life under aerial bombardment, refugee camps, communism, the war on terror, enhanced interrogation, climate change, internet politics and the spiralling inequality of neoliberalism. They live, for Now.
Political Victory Apart from a military victory (Afghan resistance is emerging slowly; we need to wait and watch) it is also a political victory for the Taliban. The Afghan military and police have been losing much more personnel, than the recruitment rate, and thus shrinking (apart from fake figures). Over the last five years the Taliban have been taking control of more and more villages and some towns. This was not a lightning advance through the cities and then on to Kabul. The people who took each city had long been in the vicinity, in the villages, waiting for the moment. Crucially, across the North the Taliban had been steadily recruiting Tajiks, Uzbeks and Arabs. No guerrilla insurgency on earth can win such victories without popular support. The people of Afghanistan had to choose sides. More people chose Taliban than have chosen the American occupiers: not all of them, just more of them.
Taliban flogging the women
Similarly, more Afghans chose Taliban over President Ashraf Ghani’s government and the old warlords. The defeat of Dostum in Sheberghan and Ismail Khan in Herat is credible evidence of that. While the Taliban and its policies of 2001 were overwhelmingly Pashtuns’, today Taliban fighters of many ethnicities have taken power in Uzbek and Tajik dominated areas except in Hazara areas. This is a war against foreign invaders, but it is also a civil war as many have fought for the Americans, the government or the warlords. A nation without a government and rogue elements ruling the streets are a recipe for the entry of extraneous elements involved in transnational crime and terror. This is exactly what happened in Iraq and Syria with the rise of ISIS when the US took its eyes off the scanner in 2011. Al Qaeda-Core, Islamic State (Khorasan Province), East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiyaba and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan all exist in the vacated space with no US influence and capability there. This presence also spells threats to China (Xinjiang related), Russia (CARs related), Pakistan and India. The longer the instability festers, the more intense will the networks become. Pakistan may have control on some elements but largely it too will get affected.
Why so many Afghans chose the Taliban? The fact that more people have chosen the Taliban does not mean that most Afghans necessarily support the Taliban. They had limited choices, but firstly Taliban are the only important political organization fighting the American occupation, and most Afghans have come to hate that occupation. After 9/11 and the defeat of Taliban 1, the Afghan people and even some Taliban hoped for deliverance from poverty, development and a stable state. Afghans are used to corruption, but the current state of affairs was unprecedented which the people hated. But as the Afghans waited, the US delivered more violence and war, not peace.
Differentiation between Islamic State and majority Taliban (and also from Taliban-1) While a few fighters (including the Pakistan-sponsored Haqqani network) support religious extremism; support Al-Qaeda and IS and have attacked Shias, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians; the Taliban has condemned such attacks. Taliban-2 have emphasized their concerns for the rights of women. They say they welcome music, and videos, and have moderated the fiercest and most puritanical sides of their former rule. And they are now saying over and over again that they want to rule in peace, without revenge on the people of the old order. How much of this is propaganda, and how much is truth, is hard to tell. Moreover, what happens next is deeply dependent on what happens to the economy, and on the actions of foreign powers.
Latest Inputs After the desertion of President Ghani, former Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh has proclaimed himself as “legitimate caretaker president” as per the constitution. He alongside Ahmed Shah Masood and the new National Resistance Front (NRF) have sounded the defiant clarion call from Panjshir Valley to fight against the Taliban. Panjshir valley had not fallen to the Taliban even during Taliban-1. Unverified reports of fighting between both forces are emerging, but the NRF is in a tenuous position being boxed inside the forbidding Panjshir heights. Reports of soldiers from the erstwhile army and police and other tribes joining the expanding resistance forces are trickling in. Taliban undoubtedly, sent a negotiating party and Masood has also signalled readiness for talks, but the initial round of talks have reportedly failed. It will take some time for the dust to settle.
Is this the beginning of the ‘End’ of American Unipolar status? The status of the United States being a sole superpower has relied on three pillars. As the largest economy in the world, dominating the global financial system; leader of the liberal, democratic world order and global institutions as also tremendous soft power; comprehensive national power to impose and compel dissenting nations. While domination of all three aspects were being questioned for some time, this abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan may well prove to be a ‘game changing moment’. The fact is USA never had a foreign policy, it used its CNP (comprehensive national power), mainly military to resolve/ intervene in other nations/region’s affairs for its narrow short term national interests.
US President Joe Biden. (Photo: AP)
Complex Pieces of the Afghanistan Geo-Political Imbroglio All nations connected to Afghanistan finally want an Afghanistan which expands their strategic space and influence without adversely impacting their vulnerabilities. They would have some commons, but fault lines too would surface along the way.
Economy: The Final Arbiter While political and security equilibrium will provide stability, the permanence of Taliban will finally be Afghanistan’s economic situation. The Taliban is already aware that running an insurgency and administering a country is not quite the same thing. Contrary to world expectations, Taliban may have won the information war, but its coffers are empty. The only people unequivocally celebrating are either fanatical Islamists or Pakistanis, neither of whom are in a position to finance the state. The banking system is on the verge of collapse. The foreign exchange reserves have been frozen, as has been the assistance given to Afghanistan by multilateral financial institutions.
The Afghani (Afghan currency) is in a state of meltdown – according to a foreign journalist one US Dollar is now getting over 8600 Afghanis (it was 86 a week back!). Foreign trade which is critical for the country has been severely disrupted. Investor confidence is non-existent. The aid money that was needed to run the state and provide services has been blocked. Businessmen and entrepreneurs are looking for the first opportunity to flee the country. Educated and talented people likewise. There is no money to pay salaries. Nor any money to provide civic services in big cities. And this is just the start.
Afghanistan’s economy is critically dependent on Western aid. The revenue generated by the Afghan state was only enough to cater for around 20% of its budget, mostly from customs collections. The rest of the money came from Western countries – around $4-5 billion. Another around $3-4 billion came for the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) which no longer exists, unless someone now considers the Haqqani Network, elements of Al-Qaeda, Jaish, TTP, ETIM, etc. as the new ANDSF. Even if the money for the ANDSF is taken out of the equation, where will the rest of the $4-5 billion come from? Even the $2 billion of customs revenue is likely to fall quite precipitously because of the banking collapse and disruption in operations of international payments mechanisms.
The Taliban revenue stream from narcotics, extortion, smuggling and other illegal activities was an estimated $1-1.5 billion. But these activities are fine to fund terrorism and insurgency, not to run a country. China and Pakistan (itself in an economic mess) will only throw crumbs to Taliban while focussing on exploiting Afghanistan for its BRI connection and vast mineral and rare earth resources. But all this can only be exploited once security situation and governance is stabilised. The simple fact of the matter is that Afghanistan is financially not a viable state, and Taliban can be tamed with this most powerful tool of the 21st Century.
China It is a mixed bag with mixed feelings for China, who will see it as an opportunity with some trepidation. China may have been content with its adversary stuck in a “messy and costly morass,” as Zhou[i] describes America’s time in Afghanistan. And Beijing’s economic interests may not be totally secure under Taliban rule; the US presence did provide a modicum of security. China is unlikely to fill that security vacuum in a significant way, in line with its stated strategy of fostering noninterventionist relationships with its neighbours. China will work to quietly increasing its political and economic leverages, and make Pakistan to do the dirty work. It is ready to step into the void left by the hasty US retreat to seize a golden opportunity.
China issued a statement on Aug 20, 2021, saying that it “respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny” and will develop “friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan”. Beijing has few qualms about fostering a closer relationship with the Taliban and is ready to assert itself as the most influential outside player in an Afghanistan now all but abandoned by the US (there is a rising tide of protest within China in the social media). Beijing can offer what Kabul needs most: Political impartiality and economic investment.
Xi Jinping, President of China. (Photo: Reuters)
Afghanistan in turn has what China prizes most: Opportunities in infrastructure and industry building, areas in which China’s capabilities are arguably unmatched, and access to $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, including critical industrial metals such as lithium, iron, copper and cobalt. Chinese companies have a reputation for investing in less stable countries if it means they can reap the rewards. If China were able to extend the Belt-and-Road from Pakistan through to Afghanistan with a Peshawar-to-Kabul motorway, it would open up a shorter land route to gain access to markets in the Middle East. A new route through Kabul would also make India’s resistance to joining the Belt-and-Road less consequential. Taliban has promised to protect Chinese investments in Afghanistan. Beijing is now also positioned to hold greater influence over the country’s political landscape.
China would be very reluctant to put military boots on ground, but under the UN charter, things may change. Already the largest troop contributor it could venture into security management of Afghanistan. This though is very unlikely given Afghanistan’s revulsion for foreign intervention. A primary concern of China is the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which could be better managed with political heft.
Pakistan Enough has been written about Pakistan and its Afghan intervention since its independence. Pakistan has been interfering in Afghanistan and supporting jihadis since1973, as President Sardar Daoud was very anti-Pakistan and did not support the Durand Line and claimed large portions as part of Afghanistan. Islamabad wants a government which is amenable to Pakistan, providing leverage to exploit other powers. Provide its obsessive strategic depth against India, and ensure India does not exert any influence, while concurrently exploit the Kashmir and jihadist activism to destabilise India. Compared to the more linear relationship with Taliban-1, Pakistan will find the going difficult this time around. Taliban leadership has grown immensely, understands international geo-politics better, is more social, widely travelled, worldly wise, and understands the importance of internal cohesion and power of negotiations with different nations. They may not like to play second fiddle to Pakistan, and Pakistan may yet live to regret supporting the Taliban.
Other State Actors Anti-Americanism is the factor which has brought players like Russia, Iran, China, Turkey together. Varied and different geo-political considerations could shorten the honeymoon. Russia sees a resurgence of its influence in Afghanistan providing some leverage against jihadi extremism which could consume it immediate neighbourhood and herself (CAR). Iran is concerned about the Shia population including the Hazaras in Afghanistan, and would ensure that power be shared, which will not be detrimental to the Shias. The OIC is watching from the side-lines very quietly. KSA, UAE and Qatar are currently not in the immediate loop either.
What should India do? India has been rather slow to take off or even stay in the Afghan geo-political loop. India has to quickly adjust to ground realities, and play the long game in Afghanistan. While a contiguous border does not exist, enormous stakes prevail, especially on its borders with Pakistan, given the high probability of anti-India jihadi activities. Over the past year as the Taliban emerged as a dominant force, Indian diplomats have opened a line with the group, as per media and government reports. “We are talking to all stakeholders,” a foreign service bureaucrat stated without giving specifics. Concurrently India needs to keep investing in Afghan people and economic development; engage all neighbouring and regional players and the USA, to ensure our interests are not jeopardised. It is an opportunity for India to exploit, given its soft power and favourable perception amongst the people of Afghanistan.
Forecasting with Fingers Crossed: What Happens Now? No one knows what will happen in Afghanistan in the next year. But some genuine desires of the people can be identified; the longing for peace in the hearts of Afghans. They have now lived through forty-three years of war. Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar, the three most important cities, have all fallen without any violence. People who do not support, indeed those who oppose the Taliban, also chose not to fight. Taliban, has reiterated, that they do not want revenge, and normal life can continue under the Sharia. Economic collapse is a distinct possibility. The Taliban leaders are clearly aware they must deliver peace, followed by development. Understanding how tribes and groups deal within and with each other, the international community is hoping that some sort of a workable coalition government is formed sooner than later. What Afghanistan needs is to be left alone to sort out its own affairs the ‘Afghan way’; not the US, UK, China, Pakistan way. Will USA and UK, and immediate and affected neighbours leave Afghanistan alone; or interfere constantly as they are wont to do, to ensure events move to their aligned view. I frankly do not have hold out much hopes.
Breaking News! President Biden has hinted that US operations to pull US troops and her local friends/supporters may extend beyond August 31, 2021 much to the angst of the Taliban. Reports are filtering in that the NRF has gathered momentum, and the Taliban has suffered serious military reverses whilst engaging the NRF in Panjshir Valley. Developments of an alternate anti-Taliban power centre by large sections of the Afghan people will certainly dictate the course of events for the coming days.
The world watches with bated breath at fast
moving developments.
“The military don’t start wars. Politicians start wars.” – Gen William Westmoreland US Army Chief [1968-72]
Kabul falls The speed with which Taliban managed to seize control in Afghanistan has both shocked the entire world and resulted in a lot of criticism on Washington’s inept handling of the situation. One of the biggest fears now concerns safety of those locals, who for the last two decades had in some way helped coalition forces and the government in Kabul to fight the Taliban, have now shamelessly been abandoned by the US and left to fend for themselves.
The great betrayal After the cold-blooded murder of 22 unarmed Afghan National Army commandos who had surrendered on June 16 in Dawlat Abad of Faryab province near Turkmenistan border, forsaking those Afghans whom Taliban would view as collaborators or government sympathisers, is tantamount to signing their death warrants. Thus, this is indeed a matter of serious concern, because after this massacre, it’s abundantly clear that while seeking retribution, Taliban will resort to the same savagery that it had exhibited while seizing power in Afghanistan, a quarter century ago.
Now that
its ignominious Afghanistan chapter is over, Washington has already started
absolving itself of any lapses, and seems apparently confident just like its previous
betrayals, like that of the South Vietnamese people in 1973, the world will
soon forget about how it ‘used’ and conveniently ‘discarded’ Afghans. However,
while it may have a lot explain for the Afghanistan debacle to the
international community, Washington also has the moral responsibility to enlighten
to its own people as to why it was patronising a country that was actually
sleeping with America’s nemesis in Afghanistan!
Washington’s duplicity That nearly 2,500 US troops were killed in action while more than 20,000 were wounded in Afghanistan since 2001, bears testimony to the fact that the US Army fought with exemplary grit and valour. The inordinately high casualties suffered by US troops in Afghanistan should thus logically become focus of domestic attention. Washington needs to apprise its people why it remained a passive onlooker despite being in the know that Pakistan was double crossing it by hosting Taliban that was targeting US troops in Afghanistan?
In 2016, Sartaj Aziz [who was the then Pakistani Prime
Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs], admitted that “We have some
influence on them [Taliban] because their leadership is in Pakistan, and they
get some medical facilities, their families are here.” Whereas,
Aziz’s claim of Islamabad having only “some influence” over
Taliban was highly underrating Pakistan-Taliban relationship, his revelation
that Pakistan had been hosting Taliban leadership all along, while it was waxing
eloquent on its war on terror and getting US aid in return is, to say the
least, unpardonable!
Three years later, Prime Minister Imran Khan himself
admitted that “when you talk about militant groups, we still have about
30,000-40,000-armed people who have been trained and fought in some part of
Afghanistan or Kashmir.” Unfortunately, the US, which was
spearheading a global war against terror didn’t bother to ask Khan what was he doing
about this grave threat that had global implications. Nor did Washington care
to enquire as to who was providing sustenance to such a massive congregation of
armed renegades, and more importantly, what had motivated them to seek refuge
in Pakistan?
Isn’t it ironical that even though both Aziz and Khan made
these revelations during their US visit, yet these damning confessions of
sanctuaries being provided to Taliban didn’t arouse any public debate even
though they were directly jeopardising safety of US forces in Afghanistan?
Pakistan’s deceit More recently (June 27 to be precise), Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed admitted that “Taliban families live here in Pakistan in areas like Rawat, Loi Ber, Bara Kahu and Tarnol.” He also went on to reveal that “Sometimes their [Taliban fighters] dead bodies arrive and sometimes they come here to hospitals to get medical treatment.” While this was repetition of what Aziz and Khan had admitted earlier, but one had expected that Taliban fighters and their families would be either staying in some remote area of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan or living incognito in refugee camps to escape detection by Pakistani intelligence agencies and security forces.
In fact, this is exactly what Khan hinted at when he said, “Now, there are camps of 500,000 people, there are camps of 100,000 people. And Taliban are not some military outfits, they are normal civilians. And if there are some civilians in these camps, how is Pakistan supposed to hunt these people down? How can you call them sanctuaries?” Whereas Khan’s contention made sense, but the locations where Taliban fighters and their families are staying as mentioned by Pakistan’s Interior Minister happen to be suburbs of the country’s capital and not refugee camps.
So, it’s more than evident that Taliban has always enjoyed a ‘special status’ in Pakistan, and needless to say, this is not out of mere goodwill but the result of a quid pro quo arrangement. That’s why the Pakistan Prime Minister’s claim that “We are not responsible, neither are we spokespersons for the Taliban” is hard to believe. Furthermore, with Pakistani NSA Moeed Yusuf saying “The situation [in Afghanistan] is bad and out of Pakistan’s control” and “If a phone call [from US President to Pakistan’s Prime Minister] is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options,” Khan’s puerile attempt to distance Islamabad from Taliban stands exposed!
Soft pedalling Pakistan-Taliban link By not being specifically assertive on the issue of Islamabad maintaining close links with Taliban and merely asking it to “do more” in the war on terror and making allegorical references to the dangers of “keeping snakes in the backyard,” three US Presidents, willy-nilly gave Pakistan a carte blanche to continue romancing Taliban. It was only former US President Donald Trump who showed some spunk by mentioning in his 2018 new Year tweet that “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit… They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan…”
Washington can’t say that it wasn’t aware of this nexus and Pakistan Army’s near-complete hold over Taliban’s powerful ‘Quetta Shura’ heading the Doha US-Taliban talks for two reasons. One, when Pakistan’s National Security Advisor [NSA] went [or was summoned?] to Washington, in end July, he was accompanied by Director General [DG] of Inter Services Intelligence] General Faiz Hameed- a dead giveaway of Rawalpindi’s close links with Taliban.
Two, while the Pakistani NSA didn’t mention initially that
the situation in Afghanistan had been discussed, US NSA Jake Sullivan tweeted
that during this meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, “We discussed the urgent need for a reduction in
violence in Afghanistan and a negotiated political settlement to the conflict”! It’s hard to believe that at a time when
Islamabad was proudly telling the world how it was playing the mediator in
Afghanistan, it’s hard to believe that Pakistan’s NSA inadvertently missed out
mentioning that Afghanistan was the central focus of this discussion!
Taliban’s unofficial “spokesperson” Prime Minister Khan may say that “We are not responsible, neither are we spokespersons for the Taliban,” but by the way the Pakistani establishment has come out in defence of Taliban’s actions speaks otherwise.
Despite brazenly initiating a bloodbath in Afghanistan in a flagrant violation of the Doha Agreement, Prime Minister Imran Khan still wants the world to see them as “normal civilians.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister maintained that “this impression that the violence is high because of the Taliban, again, that would be an exaggeration,” and even tried to shift the blame of violence perpetuated by Taliban on Daesh [Islamic State] by adding, “Aren’t there other elements over there who are playing the role of a spoiler?”
Finally, when Khan hails Taliban’s bloody takeover of Kabul as an act by which Afghans have “broken the shackles of slavery,”is any more evidence of Pakistan acting as Taliban’s “spokesperson” necessary?
Islamabad’s enduring romance with Taliban dates back to the days when Afghanistan was under Soviet occupation. Let’s not forget that it was one of the three countries that recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan and the last to break diplomatic relations with it. However, it continued to covertly nurture Taliban as its ‘ace of spade’ for extracting aid from the US in the garb of fighting its war against terror, while simultaneously using this terrorist group to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan.
The bad guy wins Islamabad’s bold gamble that brazenly violated international law paid off and it continued to receive funds from Washington despite providing Taliban safe sanctuaries on Pakistani soil as well as military and logistical support. While this was a win-win situation for both Pakistan and Taliban, the only losers were US forces fighting in Afghanistan!
What has happened can’t be undone, but to any veteran [and I’m one], the idea of a government playing games with its own soldiers is downright revolting, especially when it’s matter of life or death. Just because a soldier lays down his life unflinchingly in the line of duty doesn’t mean that he’s expendable. So, someone from Capitol Hill must explain why “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years,” when it was giving a safe haven to the terrorists the US forces were hunting in Afghanistan?
Epilogue If the past is any indicator, then chances of Trump’s above mentioned matter-of-fact observations being seriously debated in America are indeed very slim. While President Joe Biden may not appreciate the Afghanistan debacle being equated with the Vietnam fiasco, a song written during the Vietnam war gives a very strong sense of déjà vu through a poetic but indisputable link between the two. Titled ‘The Grave’ and written by Don McLean in the 70s, this poignant song fits seamlessly into the Afghanistan scenario as an apt requiem for those US soldiers who fought and fell in Afghanistan while fighting Pakistan-hosted Taliban, particularly the lines:
“When the wars of our nation did beckon
The man barely twenty did answer the calling
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation
He’s gone
But Eternity knows him, and it knows what we’ve done!”
The inevitability of Taliban control over the whole of Afghanistan within
a year or two of the US leaving the country was quite well appreciated. What
was not appreciated was the speed with which it happened.
Taliban is already on the hot seat of Kabul. Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth-largest city in Afghanistan, is also in full control of the Taliban; the Afghan Army soldiers and local warlords located there have fled to neighbouring Uzbekistan. This situation has come about even before the complete withdrawal of the US that is supposed to culminate officially on August 31, even though there is very less left to withdraw any more.
There is a scramble in the
Embassies to vacate even despite the insurgents giving an assurance to
“protect life, property and honour (of foreigners and Afghan civilians)
and create a peaceful and secure environment.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the nation through a televised speech. He did not have much to offer except a commitment to remobilise the armed forces which does not seem to be feasible any longer. He spoke of being in consultation with local leaders and international partners, but here again not much support for him or his government is expected to come by.
President Biden has made it quite clear that he is unlikely to change his decision of complete withdrawal. He has, in fact, authorised the deployment of 5,000 troops to help evacuate citizens and ensure a safe “drawdown” of US personnel in Afghanistan, according to Reuters. “Look, we spent over a trillion dollars over 20 years. We trained and equipped over 300,000 Afghan forces. Afghan leaders have to come together…… They’ve got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation,” he asserted.
There is a lot of truth in what the US President has said. The moderate elements in Afghanistan had more than two decades to politically marginalise the Taliban and build a healthy democracy. The Afghan government has also been provided with all wherewithal, money and training to build well equipped armed forces and other security forces. It has, sadly, failed to make the necessary progress. It is quite surprising and shameful that a 300,000 plus trained and well equipped army would succumb to a motley and ill-organised group of militants in such a short time span.
A lot many fingers are pointing towards Pakistan as the main reason behind the Taliban resurgence. It is said that there are more than 30,000 troops of the Pakistan Army operating in Afghanistan along with the Taliban. They are also providing the military leadership and tactical planning for the offensive. Pakistan is an expert in camouflaging its regular army troops and sending them to fight as civilian mercenaries. It did so in 1947-48, 1965 and the Kargil war against India. In Afghanistan too it has done so earlier when the Russians were in control of the country. The possibility of it having done so again in Afghanistan is not beyond the realm of reality.
The rebuttal to these allegations is coming from the abrasive Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. “The lack of will to fight, the capitulation that we are seeing in Afghanistan… Can we be held responsible for that? No, we cannot,” Qureshi said in an interview to Reuters, adding that Pakistan supported a political solution to bring peace to Afghanistan.
What Qureshi is conveniently sidelining is that Pakistan, for long, was the conduit from where the aid went to Afghanistan. How much of it was siphoned off is something that can only be speculated. Pakistan has also been responsible for giving shelter to the Taliban when it was most vulnerable. Dubious business rackets of the Taliban like drugs and arms trade, kidnapping and extortion etc. have been run from Pakistani soil. A lot that is going wrong in Afghanistan is due to its “Islamic” neighbour.
What Pakistan is not realising is that getting involved in Afghanistan is something that it can ill afford given its own fragile economic condition, unless of course its misadventure is being financed by China. The situation is ideal for what China does best – “wait and watch till an opportunity advantageous to it comes by and then pounce.” However, the euphoria with which Pakistan and Taliban are defying the US and the rest of the world due to dependence upon China is something that they will pay a heavy price for.
The strategic decision of President Biden to stay away can be accepted on merit but the world cannot stay aloof to the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding in the country. There are reports of lakhs of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) running from war zones. With the fighting shifting to urban centres the situation is becoming all the more critical, soon Kabul will be in no position to sustain the wave of humanity seeking safety and sustenance. Something will have to be done by the international community, the US, in particular, is honour bound to take lead in the initiative.
The evolving situation is not in favour of India which stands to lose its considerable economic assets created in Afghanistan over time. India has already evacuated from Mazar-e-Sharif and has advised its nationals to get back before the commercial flights stop. The strategic and security concerns which come with a Talibanised and inimical Afghanistan wholly under the tutelage of China and Pakistan are also very much alive now.
The country will be called upon to play a crucial role when the world
starts grappling with the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. India has always
helped humanity in distress and will definitely play a proactive role now too.
Strategically speaking it may become imperative for the West to get nearer to Afghanistan to keep an eye on the country, this will be feasible only if India reclaims its territories of Gilgit-Baltistan now under illegal occupation of Pakistan. It is time to look at this option closely. It is, therefore, not the end of the road for India, the work has in fact just begun.
The self-sacrificing brigade (Majeed Brigade) of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carried out a massive attack against Chinese installations at port city Gwadar on Friday, killing “at least nine Chinese”.
“BLA carried out a self-sacrificing operation against a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar, Balochistan. At least 9 Chinese engineers were killed and several were injured in the attack,” said the BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) in its media statement.
The self-sacrificing attack on Chinese installations at Gwadar was carried out by BLA Majeed Brigade’s member Sirbuland Baloch alias Umar Jan.
Balochistan attained its independence from British colonial rule on August 11, 1947. However, Balochistan’s independence was short lived and Pakistan captured it on March 27, 1948. Since then Pakistan has been looting Balochistan’s resources and the Baloch had been fighting for their independence.
At the turn of this century, imperialist China joined the bandwagon with Pakistan to loot Balochistan through the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). Gwadar is an important nodal centre of CPEC through which China transports all the mineral wealth looted from Balochistan to other parts of the world, while the Pakistani regime conducts all kinds of atrocities on Balochistan.
Friday’s attack on Chinese convoy at Gwadar by the BLA’s Majeed Brigade is part of the Baloch revolutionary movement for Balochistan’s independence.
Bilal Ahmad hails from a financially poor family. Bilal was 18-year-old when he met a person who offered him all possible help to make financial things better at home. As he was struggling in his life, he accepted the offer and was told he can earn around Rs 15,000 in a month. The job, Bilal was told, was to help militants in Kashmir with logistical support.
For five months Bilal earned over Rs 70,000. Then one day he was caught along with a group of militants and was also killed in an encounter. This shattered all the dreams of his parents who wanted him to become a teacher. Now his parents and two sisters have no one to look after him.
The money is pumped into Kashmir through various means like Hawala transactions by Pakistan.
In Kashmir Valley, there is an adequate pool of disgruntled unemployed youth both educated and uneducated for recruitment by anti-national elements. Besides poverty, radicalisation seems to be another reason for bringing the youth into militancy. One of the reasons for the youth’s getting radicalized is misuse of social media. There are some social media handlers who use social media to ensure youth get radicalized.
Recently, the Secretary of Srinagar Municipal Corporation was arrested for intimidating social activists, political leaders, government officers and journalists on a website and social media.
It has been seen that individuals booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) of J&K and who spend time in jails with hardcore terrorists provide an ideal breeding ground for potential recruits.
The more resilient and motivated youth are assigned jobs of more serious nature like grenade throwing and snatching of weapons.
Who are OGWs (Over Ground Workers) ?
OGWs (Over Ground Workers) are people who help militants with logistical support, cash, shelter, and other infrastructure. OGWs play a vital role in militant attacks, providing real-time information and support to the tactical elements. OGWs have diversified into other roles such as stone-pelting, mob-rioting, ideological support, radicalisation and recruitment of militants. OGWs also provide real-time information to the militant groups to carry out tactical operations.
Previously, OGWs were primarily involved in logistics support and intelligence gathering for the militant groups operating in Kashmir Valley. Of late the distinction has blurred considerably with OGWs also capable of carrying out small scale strikes while retaining the capability to mix rapidly with the population. OGWs also become a significant tool for strategic communication and recruitment by their handlers in J&K.
Types of Over Ground Workers (OGWs): OGWs for Logistic Support (OGWLS) to strike teams, OGWs managing funding (OGWF), OGWs providing ideological support (OGWIS), OGWs providing radicalisation Support (OGWRS), OGWs for Recruitment of Terrorists (OGWR), OGWs generating negative Perception and Sentiment amongst the general population (OGWPS).
The National Investigative Agency (NIA) had established links between terrorists, Hurriyat and stone pelters, tracking the flow of funds, which led to charge sheeting.
These workers are omnipresent in all walks of life. They could be sympathisers, belonging to families of killed militants, teachers, religious teachers, separatists, members of larger networks like Al-Qaeda Pakistani proxy war agents or even the disgruntled elements of society.
Taliban are just “normal” guys says Prime Minister Imran Khan And that’s they’ve been given safe havens in Pakistan They are people with immense piety On a mission to banish all evils from society For them, music, art and watching television are taboo Because these the Devil has created only to seduce you!
In the Taliban’s truly pious land People who steal will lose their hand And should they dare to do so again They’ll end up losing a foot in the bargain! But, that ‘men will be men’, the Taliban seems to accept So the idea of disciplining them, they outrightly reject!
Instead, to prevent men from casting lustful eyes What Taliban has decreed is extremely ‘wise’ Women will have to cover themselves from head to toes No matter if they suffocate in the sun or look like crows And should a man still fall prey to a women’s charm He can be rest assured of coming to no harm!
Instead, publicly flog the woman concerned- for shame and pain Is necessary so that she doesn’t dare to ‘tempt’ a man ever again! In the Taliban’s ‘New Afghanistan’ intoxicants, there will be none But poppy cultivation for narcotic trade will continue to be officially done Because while you may get paradise through piety in afterlife, On earth, it’s hard cash that one needs in order to survive!
So, welcome to the ‘New Afghanistan’ Specially created for salvation by the Taliban!
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